France: 3 students injured when car deliberately rams group

PARIS — A French prosecutor said a car that rammed into a group of students in a city in southwest France on Friday was driven by a man known to have "psychiatric" problems.

Toulouse prosecutor Pierre-Yves Couilleau told reporters that three students were injured on Friday when the motorist drove into the group, near a university campus in the city of Blagnac.

Couilleau said the driver claimed he acted deliberately and was arrested.

An attempted murder investigation has been opened, he said.

The prosecutor said the driver was known to police for about 10 minor crimes and not listed on a French register of people suspected of being radicalized by extremists.

The case was not been referred to France's counterterrorism prosecutors.

According to two police officials, the suspect was born in 1989 and known to suffer from a psychiatric disorder. The officials said he lived near the university.

The three people hurt are Chinese students ages 22 and 23, police officials said. Two were taken to a hospital with injuries that were considered serious, but not life-threatening. The third suffered more minor injuries.

The police officials requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.

The Toulouse region's daily newspaper, LaDepeche, said the three students were in Blagnac for a French-Chinese program at a private business school.